The government is making a big push for electric vehicles. The growth forecast is high and the policy is clear. However, the uptake will depend on the ability of the state governments to create charging infrastructure. The policy field was cleared last year. The ministry of power clarified in Apr 2018 that charging stations do […]

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it will invest $50 million in Indian renewable energy independent power producer Avaada Energy Private Limited. Avaada aims to use the capital to expand its solar energy generation capacity in India. The ADB and Avaada entered into an agreement which was signed by the chairman of the […]

Recognized as one the leading mining nations in the world Polish government has prepared ‘West Bengal Project’ that was discussed recently during Bengal Global Business Summit. Poland was partner country of the summit for a third time in a row. Poland looks for collaboration with both PSUs and the biggest private players. During a recent […]

India’s SpiceJet Ltd could benefit from cash-strapped Jet Airways being forced to ground planes, and the low-cost carrier is in talks with lessors to lease some of those aircraft, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Shares of SpiceJet rose as much as 7.2 percent on Wednesday in their biggest percentage gain […]

Indian companies are welcome to participate in Indonesia’s infrastructure projects, particularly in the Aceh province, as the island nation makes development a priority, a senior minister has said. Addressing a gathering of chief executives of the Indian companies at the 2nd India-Indonesia Infrastructure Forum (IIIF) in Jakarta, country’s Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar […]

HPCL, Mangalore Refinery merger may not happen this fiscal year

The merger of two Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) subsidiaries — Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals (MRPL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) — is unlikely to happen in FY19.

A source close to the development said, “At this pace, the deal is unlikely to happen in FY19. Neither the MRPL board has taken up the proposal nor a consultant has been appointed in this regard.” With this, it is almost certain the deal is unlikely to happen during the tenure of the current government, he said.

The government holds an 88.58 per cent stake in MRPL. Of this, ONGC holds 71.63 per cent, while HPCL has 16.96 per cent.

Interestingly, MRPL is among the 30 public sector undertakings (PSUs) yet to comply with the minimum public shareholding guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Based on Sebi’s norms, companies are supposed to maintain a minimum of 25 per cent public stake. The regulator has already penalised private sector companies for failing to meet this. MRPL was supposed to meet the guidelines in August, but is yet to do so.

According to industry experts, HPCL will look at various options to workout the deal. This includes a buyout of ONGC’s shares, a share-swap deal or a combination of both these. Based on the current market capitalisation of MRPL, the buyout will cost HPCL around Rs 9,000 crore.

However, industry experts are bullish about the possible synergy the merger can bring in for ONGC. The combined entity of HPCL and MRPL will have a refining capacity of 35 million tonnes (mt), and a retail network of around 15,000.

The experts highlight the proposed merger will add value to the earlier HPCL-ONGC deal, and streamline the full-value chain of oil from drilling. ONGC had acquired the entire government stake of 51.11 per cent in HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore last year.

“The synergy from the merger includes freight advantage in the west coast, and imports of crude for both the refineries,” said Anshuman Agrawal, manager (downstream) of US-based consulting firm Stratas Advisors.

The government is making a big push for electric vehicles. The growth forecast is high and the policy is clear. However, the uptake will depend on the ability of the state governments to create charging infrastructure. The policy field was cleared last year. The ministry of power clarified in Apr 2018 that charging stations do […]